Some help about Vipers from someone who is very very green

[foibles]

Gday everyone. So.... yes, I am new to the forum.

Hello to you all.

I've got some questions I'd like to ask - I do appreciate that I could likely find these with a bit of exhaustive searching...but I'm really hoping that forum members may be kind enough to cut me some slack and be nice!

I ask...as I am looking to purchase an 02 Viper. Part of my purchase decision is based on;

1. When did airbags become standard equipment in the RT/10 model? My understanding is that the 02 model RT certainly rolled off the production line with front and drivers airbag...

2. I am not proposing this I am not endorsing this – but if someone claimed to have a GTS that was modified from a burnt out RT/10 – surely that sort of engineering would be nigh on impossible? The GTS is a hard top correct? …I do not know how someone creates a hard top from a convertible shell?

3. How available and expensive are interior parts (I am guessing the answers are 'hard to find and very expensive' - things such as seats, door cards, steering wheel with airbag, etc etc – I presume that the GTS and RT/10 had the same seats and door cards…maybe even steering wheel etc?

I hope to be less obscure in my future posts!

Thanks,

Foibles

[dave6666]

The Gen 2 came with air bags. The Gen 1 did not. There are probably limited variants of that but in general that applies.

I know of two RT/10s that were converted to GTS style body. Mitch did one of them.

Interior parts are easy to find and not expensive at all. What are you looking for?

[MH60M]

Gen2 GTS and RT/10 have the exact same chassis. The GTS has a roof support loop structure that is bolted in and the front window frame/support is also different from the RT/10.

There are some differences between early gen2 and late gen2 though, that do affect the chassis. The charcoal canister and ABS mounts are different 2000+, as well as additional bracing or beefed up materials on the later gen 2 near the differential and inner tie rod mounts. Interior is also slightly different, the 96-98? Gen2 has smooth dash and airbags, the 99+ has a wrinkle finish. The door cards were also updated a little in 99+ wit a more modern door handle.

[foibles]

ok...so I'm considering the purchase of a 2002 rt10. seller initially referred to it as an srt10... but i ran a vin check..interesting backstory....frightening perhaps.... car had extensive mods done when near new, and almost straight away was stolen and burnt out. for some reason the subsequent buyer decided to refurbish the car in a manner that could be described as unique at best....or unrecommendable at worst. door cards replaced with stainless steel plating. seats are customised from a subaru wrx. dash is also steel plating. no airbags. totally custom. at the same time the owner also decided.... hang onto your hat.... to convert it to gts. meaning what was soft top is now hard top. at least as per photos i have been sent. seems remarkable... I'd swear fuel filler has been relocated? so whilst I'd be in no hurry, I'd ultimately want to buy pretty much a full interior...remarkably either for gts or rt10! but would want seats, carpets, steering wheel, airbags, door cards, etc. the lot!

[Steve-Indy]

I would politely suggest that you keep shopping.

[Bryan Savage]

I would politely suggest that you keep shopping.

I would politely suggest he or she post some pics! That sounds interesting!!

[RedTanRT/10]

I would politely suggest that you keep shopping.

Agree!!

Cheap project Vipers often become very expensive. Since you don’t really know these cars why don’t you post pictures and the price. Folks here can give you a better sense of the needs and costs

[MH60M]

Agree!!

Cheap project Vipers often become very expensive. Since you don’t really know these cars why don’t you post pictures and the price. Folks here can give you a better sense of the needs and costs

Please go buy a $35,000 Gen2 Viper that you can enjoy immediately; rather than a $15K car that will slowly cost you another $40K+ and 3yrs to restore. Don't ask me how I know....

Sound like you could be talking about a VettePer Kit Car...….yikes.

[foibles]

has anyone ever heard of an RT10 to GTS conversion? would it even be doable? I'll get pictures shortly....

[dave6666]

has anyone ever heard of an RT10 to GTS conversion? would it even be doable? I'll get pictures shortly....

Did you read my post?

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I would politely suggest that you keep shopping.

^^^ this

[ACR-ISH]

I would politely suggest he or she post some pics! That sounds interesting!!

Yuuuup.

[foibles]

ok....so I'll be out with this. hopefully this little bit of info (which i hadn't intended to divulge) will put everything in an entirely different light. so here's the story......in the states there are plenty of vipers. they're easy to come by and dont necessarily break the bank.however in my part of the world (Australia) Vipers are few and far between. think two only for sale in australia right now.add to this the fact that we need to have these engineered to make them right hand drive and what starts out as a $40,000 us dollar purchase ends up costing $140,000 Australian by the time you're finished. not an exaggeration. By law we must change the steering to right-hand drive and this alone costs $50,000. Part 2 of the story this car was originally purchased new in the states buy the MD of Dodge UK who shipped it to the UK and then shipped it on to Australia to undergo right hand drive steering conversion he then shipped it back at which time the car was promptly stolen and set on fire. an insurance claim was lodged and some years later an aspiring enthusiast bought the car and decided to attempt the restoration however as you perhaps may now appreciate, parts for a right-hand drive Viper are essentially non-existent and so this person decided to fabricate their own Bespoke interior whilst at the same time doing a GTS conversion. the upshot is the car you see in the photos

[foibles]

So as you by now may appreciate we are not talking about a simple US based project.... if that were the case I could easily understand why attempting such an upgrade would be utterly pointless however we're not talking about a left-hand drive upgrade we're talking about a right-hand drive upgrade. There are no other real alternatives to choose from I can either purchase this vehicle at a significantly reduced price or pay a very hefty Premium for a right hand drive and not previously burnt out example

[foibles]

aaahhh...grrr.. do i need to do the photobucket thing to upload photos? just skipping over to forum faq section to find out

[foibles]

and apologies for poor punctuation and grammar..i am talking to my phone rather than typing. situation demands such a long winded explanation... my arms would die half way through!!

[Fatboy 18]

I know that car.
It was yellow with blue stripes then got burnt to bits.
Last I knew of that car, it was in the UK?
Are you now saying it's back in OZ?

[foibles]

[foibles]

- - - Updated - - -

[foibles]

[foibles]

[foibles]

I know that car.
It was yellow with blue stripes then got burnt to bits.
Last I knew of that car, it was in the UK?
Are you now saying it's back in OZ?

no, I'm certainly not saying that. I'm alluding to the fact that it is a possibility. I've lodged an import approval which in effect can bar others from importing it themselves. being as you're in the uk you'll appreciate that this was likely a cat c....for all i know it was cat b and is only being used for shows etc...a car like this is impractical not because it's a loud 8litre dodge....and not even due to extensive bespoke works.... but the absence of airbags can be a real issue.

[foibles]

so by now i hope you've all got a better appreciation of the situation. but i doubt you're wrapping you're heads around it fully because the presence of rhd steering means that this car is a dud anywhere bar the uk and australia. I'm only partially interested in this.... i have a lotus s4s and a spirit r at cca auctions in leamington I'm busy with this week...so the viper is something of a dalliance. my interest is in the 'doability' of restoring this as close as the dodge gods intended....however the very real concern is....why bother restoring to original
..when it is now a gts not rt10?

[Black Adder]

Tailpipes just behind front wheels and rear bumper. Exhaust bypass?

[foibles]

I'll load up more interior photos when i can...but trust me.... it is about zero percent original. thats why I'm curious to know interior replacement costs.... by the way, car can always be left as it is... but it is unlikely i could register it for road use in aus due to airbags

[Steve-Indy]

If...and that is a BIG IF...you are willing to purchase this car as a race car only, that is a totally different circumstance. I guess I was thrown off by the questions concerning interior parts which I took to mean that you would be attempting to make this a streetable, GTS look-alike.

I have a friend who used to buy totalled Gen III and Gen IV Vipers just so that he could rebuild most of them for racing. He did build a "coupe" from a couple of convertibles. The rest, became parts cars...A useful idea a race cars tend to "collect issues" frequently.

Best to you !!